


Family - drabbles

by jenna1931, Melyxan



Series: Family [2]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Drabbles, Gen, Short One Shot, doing my best in english, puns are hard
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-06
Updated: 2019-04-14
Packaged: 2019-10-23 03:43:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17675804
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jenna1931/pseuds/jenna1931, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Melyxan/pseuds/Melyxan
Summary: Series of short stories, events and anecdotes linked to my principal fic "Family". The events aren't presented in a chronological order, but should be easy to locate in the principal events. If not, I'll put info at the beginning.Have fun !





	1. Eggs-tatic

**Author's Note:**

  * A translation of [Famille - drabbles](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17055362) by [jenna1931](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jenna1931/pseuds/jenna1931), [Melyxan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Melyxan/pseuds/Melyxan). 



> Please note that:  
> 1) English isn't my mother language. I use Google translate for the most parts, but correcting the "raw translation" may bring some mistakes that I didn't see or can't translate correctly. Please feel comfortable to point me at any mistake you may spot. I don't have a "proof reader" (except for Melyxan which is as good as me in English...).  
> 2) Because I also love puns, some are harder to translate in English or they lose in translation. If you can read both in French and in English, you may find different drabbles from a section to the other. Some drabbles might be exclusive to each language.

**=^..^=**

_..._  
_Hmm ?..._  
_Marinette isn't in the bed ?_  
_Weird..._  
_I'm actually the early bird !_  
_Where is she ?_

I got up from bed, a little lost. I confess that Sunday, I allow myself to sleep in a little, but Marinette is a real dormouse, often sleeping beyond her alarm. To know she's awake before me is a rare phenomenon, so to know that she's already out of bed is almost disturbing !

I decide first to take a shower...  
I may be worrying about nothing...

... what if she got a call for help ?  
... what if she was gone to fight ?  
... what if she had not woken me up because she didn't want my help ?  
... what if...

 _Calm down, Adrien ! Your Lady would have warned you if she needed help !_  
_Remember what Mom told you in her message !_  
_"Never underestimate your importance to others."_  
_Marinette would never let you down if she had a call for help._  
_You know she's counting on you anytime..._  
_She would never have kept you on the bench..._  
_You know her better than that..._

I closed the water, realizing that I had stayed much longer in the shower than normal. The situation was really exceptional and I realized that it put me in all my states. I had to pull myself together ! I tied my hair - _Maybe it would be time to clean it a little ?_ \- left a towel in my neck to absorb the excess water, and finally went to the kitchen where I found Marinette. Knowing her still being at the apartment, in safety, was reassuring and quickly made me smile again.

"Ah, Adrien !" she said, turning slightly to me, a smile in her voice. "What do you want to eat this morning ?"

Oh ! She's preparing breakfast ? If I'd known... "I'll take eggs, please !" My smile stretched inevitably. When my mind starts to derail, it doesn't stop...

She turned more to me, a puzzled look in her face. "What's that broad smile ? Should I be worried ?"

I shook my head. "Nah, don't worry... my princess makes me breakfast, I'm just... _egg_ cited !"

The Chat in me had a blast to appear... not that she didn't expect it, anyway. She looked at me, not the least impressed. " _Egg_ cited ? Really ?" She turned her back on me. For little, I would have _heard_ her roll her eyes. "Aren't you _egg_ _s_ agerating ?" This time, her smile was perfectly audible... and mine stretched literally from one ear to the other. To know that my Lady was embarking without restraint in my follies of Chat Noir was always exciting. "Bah... why do I still persist ?... you're just _eggs_ asperating !"

I completely broke down, bursting with an uncontrollable laugh. "My Lady is the best !" I was the most comfortable with puns, but when she started, Marinette was hard to stop ! I approached her, taking her in my arms from behind and gently leaning my chin on her shoulder.

She started laughing again. "What are you _eggs_ pecting ? Even in your field, I'm an _eggs_ pert !"

I snort softly to not burst her eardrums. I straightened up slightly to whisper in her ear. "I love you so much..." After a few moments, I moved slightly to free her from my embrace to allow her to finish preparing the meal. "Tell me, it's rather rare that you wake up before me ! What's the matter ?"

She invited me to follow her to the table, our plates in the hands like a waitress. "Oh, nothing much !" she replied, sitting in her turn. "Some nausea that woke me up this morning, nothing serious !"

Nausea ? "You seem to be in an  _eggss_ essive good mood for someone who got up with nausea !" I told her, showing her my well-stocked fork before tucking it in my mouth. I'm a disaster in the kitchen. Fortunately, my fiancee is a _cordon bleu_ ! "Are you sure everything's okay ?"

She shook her head, her mouth being full. "Tell me ?" she said next. "Is the work to change your room into a loft well advanced ?"

I raised an eyebrow, curious. "Rather, yes ? Why ? Need an other room ?" She gently nodded. "There's always the mezzanine with which we have nothing planned... Is it for your sewing ? I thought you wanted to keep your apartment as a workshop ?"

She shook her head. "Oh, it's always the case, it's just that..." She hesitated, still a huge smile on her lips. "... the kitten is going to need his own room, that's all !"

I watched her for a long time, perplexed. She was planning to adopt a cat ? I was almost jealous already. And then, why would it need its own room ?! She didn't let go of my eyes, letting me ask myself a thousand questions. Why was she smiling like that ? What was she hiding from me ? _A kitten ? An extra room ? **Nausea ?!**_ I suddenly had a revelation, placing a hand on my mouth to hold back a burst of surprise. "A kitten !?" Her smile stretched as I spoke in my fingers, incredulous. "You're going... We're going... You're..." At the look I must have, she nodded, having realized that I had finally reached the right conclusion. I straightened up, throwing myself into her arms and pulling her out of her chair to lift her up as high as I could. She was laughing, standing on my shoulders as I swirled with her in the kitchen.

Today, I was the happiest man in the world.

**óÔÔò**


	2. Like mother, like pun

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The puns work great, but the _mom/mother/maman_ parts loose a little in the translation...

**=^/-\^=**

An _anime_ marathon...

When was the last time ?

I was wrapped in a blanket, a bowl of snacks in my hand and a hot drink on the coffee table. It had been two days since I was sick and today I couldn't stand it anymore. I tend to say that I'm sick only twice a year, but that each lasts for six months... My manager had pity on me and offered to take care of my orders, allowing me to take my day. I didn't hesitate for long !

So I was alone at home, Adrien being at school and Alain at work. The marathon was quickly imposed.

If Alain and I get on well with music, Adrien and I are in perfect symbiosis on the _anime_ side... When he came back from school, he was surprised to find me already at home, but seeing my condition and how I was the two days before, the surprise probably didn't last long. Without a word, he came to join me, bringing his books with him. I was going to give him a little space when he moved the coffee table away, laying down his books, to sit on the floor, leaning his back directly against my legs. I was amazed, but I didn't add anything and let him do. He then simply sat down to his homework, raising his head occasionally to watch television, or mumbling some dialogue lines. After a while, I leaned towards him, ruffling vigorously his blonde locks. He laughed, amused, then rested his head on my lap, looking to me upside down. _Damn it !_ He is tall enough to do it without breaking his neck ! "Wouldn't you be better in your room to do your homework ?" I didn't ask because I wanted him to focus - I knew he was multitasking - but because _he was sitting on the floor doing homework_. Nothing very comfortable.

He smiled and shook his head. "Nah, I'm fine like that !" Then, after a moment of hesitation, he asked me, looking sorry "Am I bothering you ?"

I looked at him, surprised, before I smiled tenderly and gently passed my fingers through his hair. "Do you think so ?" My response surprised him slightly, then he smiled, delighted, and again looked at his homework. I lingered to observe him, completely forgetting the _anime_ I was watching. It wasn't long ago that we were officially a family, and I was afraid I wouldn't live up to Adrien's demands. At the same time, he didn't seem to complain about it, but I knew him well enough to know that he would not complain about it even if it really got on his nerves. "Adrien ?" I said softly after a few minutes. I saw him seize before slowly resuming his position, his head on my knees, visibly worried. I admit that the few times I really called him by his first name were either because a nickname would have been inappropriate, or because I had something important to tell him. "You... you can tell me if... I do too much - or not enough, if I... I say or do things I shouldn't, or that don't make you feel comfortable, all right ?" He seemed to relax, but remained attentive, smiling at me softly. "I... KNOW that I'm probably not the right person... the ideal person to take care of you, and the only experience I have is with my niece... and I can't say that I'm so comfortable with her... A REAL mother has nine months to get along with the idea, to shape her character and develop her maternal instinct, whereas for me, everything is improvisation and I don't always know where to throw myself..."

He began to laugh heartily, no more stressed by the way I had called for him. "Emi... I wouldn't want to be anywhere else than here right now... You, your family, you have given me more affection in a few months than I had since the disappearance of my mother, and even when she was there, she didn't give me as much." I was stunned by this remark. "When you think you're doing too much, I just want more, when you think you've said or did something wrong with me, I just put it aside and I'm waiting to see if it happens before to let you know, as to what might make me feel uncomfortable, you haven't crossed any limits for now, so..." I sighed, relieved, as he gave me a small smile, happy to have reassured me.

I began to comb his hair with my fingers, Adrien enjoying the gesture with delight. "I want you to know that you can talk to me about anything and everything, with or without the mask, okay ? I'm not sure if you did your teenage rebellion crisis yet, so if one day, you tell yourself that your parents are the worst parents in the world, come tell me so we adjust our watches, okay ?" I watched him with pleading eyes as he burst out laughing. "Please ?"

He looked at me softly. "Of course, _Maman_..."

This word made me lose my smile, giving in spite of me a blow to Adrien's ego. "I... would like you not calling me _maman_ , please..." I was not mad, but he looked at me as if I had shouted insults.

"Why ?" he asked me, turning slightly to me. "Aren't you my mother now ?" He looked away, speaking in a small voice. "Unless in the end, you don't really want me..."

I gently grabbed his jaw and forced him to look me in the eyes. "I  _FORBID_   you to think that !" I spoke with clenched teeth, trying to hold back my emotions. "You are here with us, that's what we _WANTED_ ! Remember that when you signed the document, we told you that it didn't matter if you wanted it or not, it would change nothing for us. We  _WANTED_ to have you in our family, the final decision was yours !" He looked down when I released his face. I had the impression of having scolded him. I took a good breath to calm myself and stay rational before starting again. "I don't want you to call me 'mother' out of respect for your true mother..."

"Out of respect for my mother ?" He seemed incredulous, looking at me with his big green eyes.

I pushed a long sigh. The subject of conversation was far from happy. "Your father has deliberately cut the bridges with you," I reminded him bitterly. "But what about your mother ?"

"My mother's missing," he grumbled, staring at me as if I had forgotten.

I slowly nodded. "She's not dead, as long as I know ?' He shook his head, realizing little by little what I wanted to make him aware of. "Who knows ? Maybe she'll come back one day, but when that day comes, how do you think she's going to take the fact that you call another woman ' _mother_ ' ?" I gently put a hand through his hair. "Maybe she'll think you've forgotten her, that you've replaced her ? I don't want to take her place, neither in your life, nor in your heart..." He turned to me, almost horrified. "I _love_ you, Adrien. You must _never_ doubt it, but out of respect for your mother who can't give her opinion on your situation, I would like you not call me ' _mother_ '... _Emi_ is good enough..."

"What if I still want to call you ' _maman_ ' ?" He almost begged me, but I looked away. "What if... I called you differently ?" This time he attracted my curiosity. "You call Elise ' _mom_ ', don't you ?" I acquiesced. "Why ?"

I laughed softly before I began to cough, my cold suddenly reminding me of his tenacious presence. "Honestly, it's more from laziness than anything else... Mom or  _M'man_ depending on circumstances, but it's mostly 'cause that's only one syllable !" I was not proud of it, but it made Adrien laugh.

He then completely turned toward me, leaning his arms on my lap. "So what if we did like that ?" _Like that what ?_ I leaned my head to the side, curious. "I always called her 'Mother'... So, could I call you 'mom' ? It would make you stand out without giving the impression that you have replaced her !" He leaned his head on his arms, looking down at me like a young child. "And I'll have the impression of having a mother again..." He stopped, shaking his head. "... no... I _WILL_ have a mother again..." I couldn't help but look at him tenderly. I knew what he had lived to a certain extent, and the void left by his mother was too big not to try to fill even a small patch.

I finally agreed, ruffling his hair energetically. "Ok... go for 'mom' then !"

Satisfied, he has resettled to resume his homework. After a few moments, a shiver ran through my body... _damn cold_... Adrien still had his back stuck on my legs, he must have realized. I suddenly heard him chuckle. _What was he going to banter this time ?_   " Want me to bring you a carda _mom_ tea ?"

 _Of course_... "Thank you, but I prefer cha _mom_ ile..." _Oh ! This is a little two-players game, Bud !_

He giggled, still turning his back on me, but pretended to get up. "Give me a _mom_ ent, I'll get you another blanket."

"To find myself tucked like a _mom-_ my ? No thanks !"

We exchanged a mischievous look until we heard Plagg grumbling. "You are really ridiculous, both of you !"

Adrien was going to reply, probably taking my defense, but I stopped him with a gesture. "Don't worry, I'm like a _mom_ tain... I can take it !" He tried to hold another burst of laughter, to no avail. I motioned him to come back and sit down. He had to continue his homework after all. 

"If we change _anime_ ? Digi _mom_ maybe ? Or One Punch _Mom_?" This time, he had cracked, laughing out loud. "Or what about a movie ? _Mom_ sters Inc., what do you say ? Or How do you train your dra _mom_?"

He held his ribs. "Could we play video games later ? Like Poke _mom_ , Hit _mom_ Reborn or _Mom_ craft ?"

I laughed / coughed to have trouble breathing. "Finish your _mom_ work first !"

**óÔÔò**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks Mel fur the puns  
> You're still the best, my Lady !


	3. If I didn't kn'AU

**=^/-\^=**

After four years, Adrien's still surprised by the difference between our polar winters and our scorching summers. The pool at the Aquatic Center was doing wonders on my gunshot wound, but finding myself alone on my side while the guys were training on theirs had nothing to help my mood. After all, every time I moved a little too hard, it hurt and I was unable to do anything as I wanted.

So we decided, during our vacation, to go to a water park. At least I knew that my men would take a break from time to time and that they would come and keep me company when I wasn't in the water, but rather on the sunbeds perfecting my tan - and incidentally, watch our bags and keep company with Plagg. After all, he didn't like the idea of following Adrien in the pool or sledding. So we had set ourselves apart from the other holidaymakers and arranged one of the bags so that Plagg could also enjoy the heat of summer and his day off without being seen, his cheese stored in a cooler so that it remains cool, and the precious ring at his side.

After a while, Adrien came to join me, running with a smile to drop into the deck chair next to mine, a satisfied smile on his face and the hair falling in the eyes. When he straightened up to grab a towel to mop up the excess water from his locks, I noticed that some girls were looking in his direction and hiding to laugh with each other, some blushing dramatically under the laughter of their friends. When I turned to Adrien again, I could understand the effect he could have on young women of his age. By adding swimming to his physical training, he had become athletic, particularly well cut. Moreover, since the model could be taken out of the modeling and not the modeling of the model, he had a tendency to naturally take certain poses that were dangerous for him. I couldn't help chuckling, and I only shrugged at the questioning look that Adrien then gave me. He finally lay down to enjoy the sun, discreetly exchanging some comments with Plagg.

"Mom ?" he asked after a moment, surprisingly serious and somewhat nervous. "What... what would have happened if you didn't know me when we met ?"

I slowly turned to him, an inexpressive pout in my face. "If you ask me that and then mope about the answer, I slap you..." His eyes widened, surprised by my ultimatum. "I know you, _CinnaBun._  If, in my answer, you get the impression that you wouldn't have had your place with us, you'll shut up like an oyster." He smiled at me, embarrassed, rubbing his neck nervously. He knew I was right and had just realized that he had this habit of always underestimating the feelings of others for him. After promising me not to be overwhelmed by any doubt, I thought for a long time. It was true that I had never thought of this eventuality. "If I didn't know at all, or if I knew the model through magazines ?"

This time, Adrien stopped to think about it. "Well, I'm practically a stranger here, so we're going to say that since you're not much into fashion, you didn't know who was coming into your office..."

I approved his reasoning with a nod. "If I didn't know at all... _hmm_... Already, I really would have been looking for a chair to install you, but I probably wouldn't have been looking for something to eat directly; I would have asked first... and I probably would have asked questions when you'd asked me for cheese !" He laughed. "We wouldn't have had this conversation about your father or your _Cat_ since I wouldn't have been aware of either of them... Honestly, we probably wouldn't have talked a lot... You know how I am with people I know little..."

He nodded slightly. "Yeah, normally you're more introverted..."

"Exactly... Then, coming out of the store, seeing that Joel wouldn't have managed to reach your tutors, I would have asked you what you wanted to do rather than take the initiative directly. So you'd had the choice to either go through the police to join your tutors, or I probably would have invited you to my house in the end. As we wouldn't have discussed much and that you gave the impression of disturbing, you probably would have gone through the police not to bother us further." He smiled, raising an eyebrow. "It was the first time I'd met you, but you were an open book, Kitty... Anyone could have seen in your eyes that you felt we were cluttering... Well, in short... If you had decided to go through the police, the story would have ended there. If you had decided to follow me, the evening would have probably gone pretty much the same, except for some conversations we wouldn't have had and with a little more restraint on you," I added, reaching out to ruffle his still wet hair. "Then I probably would have had no idea how to act with you when you had your first nightmare, and I would have probably had a heart attack the first time you went out patrolling in the middle of the night, at least the first time I realized it." I smiled mischievously. "I probably would have slept with a baseball bat next to my bed on the first nights... or maybe more Alain ?" I added reflectively theatrically, drawing a smile to Adrien. "Yep, surely more Alain !" I then leaned towards him, resuming my seriousness. "I know where your question leads... ' _Would we have adopted you as we did if we didn't know you ?_ ' The answer is ' _Yes, no doubt_ '." His eyes widened before looking away. "It might have taken a little more time because I probably would have insisted that you join your father, but things would probably have ended up in the same way eventually. After all, I dare to hope that you would have told me about your life in France sooner or later, and I probably would have reacted like ' _How is it that he can do that and sleep peacefully ?!_ ' After that, perhaps I would have, even certainly, begun to treat you as a Cinnamon Roll..." Adrien burst out laughing, having learned not long ago what _Cinnamon Roll_ meant. "Well, my decision to adopt you was perhaps biased by the fact that I knew you, but Alain and my parents didn't know you. Do you doubt their feelings for you ?" He suddenly became serious, then gently shook his head. Some things in this theory would remain the same, no matter if I knew him or not at the base.

I kept thinking about this alternative universe where I wouldn't know him. "Depending on the timing, our feelings for each other might not have been enough for you to develop your _Supurr Speed_ , so I might have ended up in a ditch with a kitchen knife planted between the ribs..." This finding had the effect of a shock for Adrien. Suddenly, he noticed that my knowledge had inadvertently saved us more than once. "If I had managed to get out of it," I said, looking away "on your side, you would probably have never got out of this fire... Unless I'd met your hamster in time, I could never have become Pantera and save you..."

"Unless I asked Plagg to do it..." Adrien replied, drawing my attention.

We heard the kwami muttering from his bag. "You hardly had the strength to tell me to take your ring to bring it to Emilie." The creature of destruction slowly shook his head. "Besides, I would have had to explain it all the way, and she would never have arrived in time."

My kitten tilted his head aside, puzzled. "It's not so long to explain ?"

I bit my lip slightly. "Adrien, when I arrived in the inferno, you weren't breathing anymore, and by going out, I realized that your heart was not beating either... and that's after leaving the house a few seconds after Plagg threw me the ring and got some strength." He was looking at me, terrified at the idea that had just crossed his mind, and I could have kept my mouth shut, but I preferred him to measure the whole extent. "If Plagg had to explain the basics alone, the rescuers would never have been able to recover you... You really lost a life in there, it's not just a cat analogy..." He stayed silent for a moment, plunging into his thoughts as he looks away. "Besides, if I hadn't known for Plagg, HawkMoth would have gotten you and would have had your ring last month." Adrien slowly nodded. Pantera couldn't exist without the Black Cat's Miraculous, so if I didn't know about Plagg, I wouldn't have been able to intervene on more than one occasion, and he was quickly aware of it. I finally returned the question. "And you ?" Having attracted his attention, I developed my question. "What would you have done if I didn't know you when we met ?"

He remained silent for a moment, lost in his mind. "I guess hiding in Plagg, you would have started to find me weird. You'd be worried, no doubt, when I was out on patrol at night. This isn't a bad thing but, even knowing everything about me, you used to watch me a lot more than Father." I giggled and rolled my eyes. _It wasn't difficult !_ He seemed to read my thoughts, accompanying me with a smile. "You would have started asking where all your cheese was going..."

"Hey !!" an offended Plagg answered, only forcing us to laugh more.

"But I agree... I probably wouldn't have been able to save you from the pursuit, and I panicked completely during the fire knowing that I still had chances for Plagg to find you in time and save me, so I can't imagine how things would have turned if I had been caught in there knowing that I was completely alone - not wanting to underestimate you, Plagg..."

"You're right, kid," the kwami replied. "Without Emilie, you were indeed alone, I would have been unable to get you out of there - my cataclysm would have just finished you - and I could only have..." To our surprise, he didn't dare finish his sentence, but suddenly, I understood where he was going.

"... to watch him die before bringing the Miraculous back to the Guardian..." I completed under Adrien's dazed gaze and the kwami's approval. In front of the silent interrogation of my grand blond, I continued the explanations. I knew that Plagg wouldn't be able to talk about what he had to have with his other _black cats_ , and I didn't want to force him to dwell on his old memories. "Plagg couldn't have seen a firefighter to get you there, and there were too many journalists to find someone discreetly, and we come back with the problem of explanations. The time needed to explain everything, you would have been gone..."

As the subject became depressing, Alain came to join us, all smiles. "Hey, you abandoned me ?" he threw to Adrien, slapping him on the shoulder before turning to me. "How are you, my darling ? Fit enough to slide with your man ?"

I shook my head slowly, trying to hide my smile before shrugging. _Why not ?_ "I'm coming !" As I got up from the deck chair, I stretched out all my length before taking a look at Adrien. He was looking at us both, a sweet smile in his face. He looked reassured. I gave him back his smile, adding a wink before following Alain.

After a few steps, I heard Adrien call me. I stopped and barely had time to turn around before getting hugged. "I'm happy that it's in this universe that we met..."

I gently responded to his embrace.

_You have no idea..._

**óÔÔò**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some feels...


	4. Multiverse Madness

**=^..^=**

The taxi finally dropped us at home.

_Damn it !_

I felt like it was going back for ages !

We had made a detour to my grandparents to drop off the children - Elise had _demanded_ that we leave them the time to re-install at my parents' residence.

When the taxi left, leaving us at the door with our luggage, a huge anxious sigh escaped. Why did returning home make me so nervous ? Biting my lip unconsciously, I realized that I was not really home anymore, now. I now had a house in France, and then I was French after all. Could I still consider the house of my Quebec parents as being at home ?

Emilie and Alain knew we were coming, but the surprise was _when_. I still had my key if needed, but seeing the cars in the driveway, I suspected everyone was there. Politely, I knocked on the door, holding my breath to calm my palpitations.

The door slowly opened, Emilie looking at us with some surprise, then her eyes fell and she quickly closed the door.

_........... uh ............ wh.............. what?! ......................_

Just two seconds later, she opened the door again, a huge smile lighting up her face, and jumped into my arms like we had not seen each other for centuries. We talked to each other regularly by video application... but I must admit that I missed the warmth of her hugs. So I found myself hugging her with such enthusiasm.

She finally invited us in, helping us with the suitcases and heading to the basement where my old room was. I noticed that some things had changed in anticipation of our stay, but my room was basically the same. Emilie then explained to us that she had put the shop on hold for some time and that we would have the basement for us, having temporarily arranged it as a small apartment.

"Wait, why did you put the shop on hold ?" I admit that the fact that we took all the basement with the children made it obvious, but she seemed to have already made this provision when she didn't know when we were going to arrive.

She pointed to a few boxes waiting to be moved. "In fact, before you arrived, I was preparing for Otakuthon, this is the third year I've got a booth, and since I knew you were about to arrive, I just got ahead. "

My smile stretched. "I've never been there, do you think it would be possible this year ?" I was hopeful as a child waiting for Santa Claus.

Emilie rubbed her neck nervously. She had always told me that we needed a special invitation to go, which is why, despite the many times she had been there with my aunt, I had never been able to accompany her. To her fading smile, I realized that it would not be for this year yet. "If you want ?" My surprise must have been perfectly visible because she became even more nervous. "I... I always said that you need a special invitation, but... because of what's there, I would have had a hard time explaining this _multiverse_ story to you... and you still didn't know who was behind the mask... Now that you know, you can come with me without problem... if you still want to come ?"

I sighed for a long time. After all that had happened since I left Quebec, there were indeed a lot of things she could not have explained to me if we had been there at the time. _Damn it !_ I had finally felt like I had been gone for a century... I nodded and asked Marinette if she wanted to accompany us too. She was curious, but didn't hesitate to accept.

.oOoOo.

Since our kwamis were aware of what was happening when we were transformed, we decided by mutual agreement to go to convention with our powers. It was rather pathetic as an idea, but the kwamis agreed. Anyway, what could happen ?

Arriving on site, Emilie - FuryFlame - led us to a queue different from that of ordinary participants. Curiously, someone was waiting for us, gesturing at us. Approaching, I could recognize RenaRouge, but she left me a strange impression. Looking at Mari ~ Ladybug, I quickly realized that she felt the same uncertainty. She then quickly approached her. "Alya !" she exclaimed between her teeth. "But what are you doing here !?"

Flame and Rena exchanged a look, then slapped their hands to their forehead. _What's going on ?!_ RenaRouge then turned to me, looking me straight in the eye. "It's me, BanaNya !"

"Mel ?!" I only knew one person who called me with all possible variants with the word 'banana' ... and who knew that I hated it. For once, though, I was happy that she did, and with her mischievous smile, I quickly realized that I was not mistaken.

Ladybug was trembling at my side. "How did you get the Fox's Miraculous ?!" she asked, whispering nervously.

FuryFlame gently put her hand on her shoulder to calm her. _"I'll explain everything to you, don't worry !"_ she signed. She then turned to Mélanie, a smile that could easily be guessed under her scarf. _"Hey, my FoxyLady, can you take care of our registration, I'm going to have a little meeting with these two."_ She began to laugh and quickly nodded before advancing to the counter in question. Flame came back to us and pushed us to a quieter corner. She decided to speak to be certain that Marinette would understand, giving us a guttural voice. "Remember, for me, for all of us here, Ladybug and Chat Noir are fictional characters." I made a slight nod, this conversation having been discussed a few times already. She paused to gather her ideas and resumed. "The reason I didn't want to take you here, Kitty, it's because that... there's not _only_  Ladybug and Chat Noir that are known... Adrien Agreste and Marinette Dupain-Cheng too... In our _universe_ , everyone knows who is behind the mask."

I bit my lip. "So... does everyone know about Father ?" Ladybug gently put a hand on my arm to reassure me.

FuryFlame gently nodded. "Remember that for them, nothing is true... Only our family knows... Gabriel, HawkMoth, Nathalie, Mayura, the akumatized,... your classmates, for them everything is fictional. As long as you don't show your powers, you can act normally and people will believe it." She took a second break to let us digest the information, but I guessed a smirk beneath her scarf. "Don't be surprised if you see alternative versions as well..."

" _Alternative versions ?_ " I repeated, perplexed and a little anxious. "Like in _alternate universe_?"

She nodded. "What would Adrien look like if he has been a girl ? Or Marinette if she was born a boy ? What could Alya look like as Ladybug if Marinette had managed to give her her Miraculous ? If Marinette or Adrien had been akumatized ? So many questions and so many answers..." She laughed at seeing our faces completely defeated. "You have to keep an open mind and remind yourself that people you meet are just ordinary people who dress up in their favorite characters and play their role as they can." At that time, Mel came back with our badges and gave us some guidance on the different rules to follow. They then guided us in the different corridors to the large exhibitor hall and traders.

Arrived at our booth, we undertook to undo the boxes and expose the different costumes and accessories. The convention was not yet officially started, so there were only other exhibitors who passed by, but many commented on the quality of our 'costumes', which made us all laugh low. Only Mélanie was really disguised, but Emilie's experience with the magic costumes made her look like she was wearing a Miraculous, which is why we were mistaken.

"In all that," Emilie said during the preparations, "Only FuryFlame, Pantera and Medusa are real in this world, and as they are known, you can find cosplayers of them too, so if you look for me, don't automatically assume that the Fury you see is me, but no one knows who is behind their masks, just as Paris still ignores for both of you."

"Is one of you Emilie ?" suddenly exclaimed a male voice behind me, drawing my attention.

"It's me," she answered, patting my shoulder for me to turn around. "I would recognize this one of a thousand ! Hi Jeff ! Glad to see that you kept it well maintained !"

To my amazement was in front of me another Chat Noir. The man in the mask was obviously an adult, but he looked like me when I was a teenager. Having about my size and my build, if my costume had remained the same, we could have pretended to be twins. Seeing me though, he burst out laughing. "I see you have not cured !"

Flame quickly responded to his laugh. "Your costume gave me the experience I needed to do his," she said, pointing at me.

"I'm almost jealous ! You really put a lot of effort into that one !" He was gauging my 'costume', admiringly.

She put an arm around my shoulders in a hug. "I'd do anything for my boy !"

My double then looked at me with big eyes. "Your official model is your son ? I'm even more jealous !" he laughed before giving me his hand.

"Adrien, I'm introducing Jeff, my client who ordered me the Chat Noir HQ costume, do you remember ?"

I shook Jeff's hand with a smile. "Hard to forget !"

Jeff looked at me puzzled. "Adrien ? Really ? As in _Adrien Agreste_ ?!" He laughed as I did my best to stay relaxed. "In any case, man, you have the right name for the character !" He then turned to Flame while I started to breathe again. I must not forget that it was normal for him to know Adrien without knowing that I was _the_ Adrien behind _the_ mask. "Look, Emilie, I know it's not really the day for it, but are you gonna be able to look at the mechanism of the ears ? It looks like the link between the ears and the tail isn't working anymore..."

FuryFlame quickly acquiesced. "Come back in an hour, I should be able to take a look." He quickly thanked her and wished us a good convention before leaving. My mother then turned to me. "Well done ! Do you understand now how are people in relation to you ?" Ladybug and I quickly made her a sign of understanding. We could easily pretend to be ourselves without people realizing we were the real ones.

After a while, once we were sure that Emilie and Mélanie were installed all right at the kiosk, we decided to go explore a little bit. Among the participants, we were able to meet people disguised as anime and manga, video games and movies characters. People were asking us for photos; and we asked those who were going for our favorite characters. Fortunately, Emilie had warned us about what we could find ! Not only was there a panoply of Ladybug and Chat Noir, but also Pantera, FuryFlame, RenaRouge, even Volpina, Carapace, QueenBee, HawkMoth and what I thought were Mayura, LadyWifi, Evillustrator and so on. As suspected, there were also our classmates and alternative versions of Marinette and me, but also of Ladybug and Chat Noir. Some were disturbing, others fun, but in general we were well received in all the groups we met.

One of them stood out, taking us into stories and mini-role-plays that we excelled at... maybe a little too much, Ladybug and me.

At the end of the day, the group informed us that they met again the next day with new costumes, always related to our 'universe'. We would have to discuss it, but we promised to join them.

This second day would be interesting !

**óÔÔò**


	5. Fan Freaking

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I read a fanfic absolutely fantastic, but that literally broke my heart as I was reading it. There're fluffy moments, but a lot of heartbreaking and gory ones.  
> Be aware.  
> It's the [Metamorphosis](https://archiveofourown.org/series/530668) series by artisticFlutter.
> 
> The Adrien's foster mom that I am needed to get it out of her chest...

**=^..^=**

The end of year works are real torture. With my diction exercises, it's even worse. Sometimes I wonder if I would have had to suffer all this if I had stayed in France, or if it would have been worse.

In addition to my research on the Internet that doesn't give me anything...

_Argh ..._

 

 

I suddenly hear a gentle knock on my door. Clearing my throat, I invite the person to enter in a hoarse voice, but the sound doesn't seem to pass and I decide to take an eraser and throw it in the door, giving a signal to the person on the other side. The door opens slowly, Emilie looking at me with tears in her eyes and trembling lips. I get up immediately to join her.

She rushes into my arms, clutching my chest with so much force that I have trouble breathing for a minute, although the simple gesture alone has taken my breath away. In disarray, I respond to her embrace without understanding what put her in this state. "Mom?" I have already seen Emi shed tears, but never cry in my arms that way.

Unless...

"Is it that Father has..." I have a hoarse voice, but that does not stop Emi from understanding where I want to go with my question.

She gently shakes her head against my chest. "I love you, Kitty, that's all..." she mumbles.

Looking up, I see Plagg watching the scene with all the disinterest I know him for. Giving him an embarrassed look, hoping for answers, he just shrugged, throwing a piece of cheese in the air before engulfing it. "If I were you, kid, I would endure..."

_Endure ? Endure what ? What the heck is happening ?_

Emilie smiled slightly, smothered by my hoodie, before straightening up without necessarily letting go. "Excuse me, I look weird..." She finally left me to wipe her eyes before smiling to me uncomfortably. "I needed it..."

I gently put my hands on her shoulders. I needed to understand. "Mom, explain to me..." To see her in such distress was destabilizing. I pushed her gently to my bed to sit down.

She sighed for a long time, wiped her eyes again with the back of her hand, then extended the gesture to rub the back of her head. "You're going to think it's ridiculous..." She smiled mischievously, looking at me out of the corner of her eye, then pushed a lock of hair back, proudly lifting her head. "... utterly ridiculous !" she added in a sarcastic impression of Chloe - _I would recognize this expression anytime_. I couldn't hold a chuckle, but I again made her understand that I needed explanations. "I... I was... overwhelmed by a story I read on the Internet, a fanfiction, nothing real." _It was only that ?!_ I sighed with relief. "I told you it was ridiculous !" I shook my head and put an arm around her shoulders. She continued her explanations. "Roughly, it's two young people, a guy and a girl, who find themselves caught in a story of genetic mutations. The guy agrees to go to the lab because they made him believe that he could save lives with the tests they will perform on him." I felt her shiver in my arms. "To trigger his mutation, they have made him... suffer..." She buried her face in her hands. I could only watch her sob for a fictional story. She took a few moments to regain composure. "... He was tortured, but... his powers needed others to balance out because they were too powerful... So, the... 'chief of operations' did kidnap the girl a month later and also mutated her..." _Oh..._ "Two teens who had nothing to do with all that..." She inspired deeply, regaining her smile. "The story ends relatively well in spite of their completely shaken lives, but to imagine what happened to them..."

I gently put a hand on her back. "Relax, it was just a story..." I wanted to sound reassuring, but my hoarse voice gave the impression of being pissed off.

She rested her head in her hand and looked at me sideways. "I know, but..." She sighed again. "It reminded me of the fire..."

_............Oh......_

"By the time you got back to the hospital, I couldn't stop imagining what your last thoughts might have been before you fainted, stuck in the rubble..." She said is straightened, looking ahead, losing herself in her memories, no doubt. "While I was reading, I couldn't help but imagine that you and the guy probably wanted to di... to all of this to end quickly..."

Her distress was suddenly as clear as crystal. I gently squeezed her hand. "I panicked, it's true, when I realized that my right arm was stuck, there was a lot of thoughts that crossed my mind at great speed, but I knew that, if Plagg had managed to find you in time, that you would have done everything to save me... I had full confidence..."

She turned to me, smiling affectionately. She then sighed and got up from the bed, kissing me softly on the forehead before leaving the room. "Thanks, Kitty... What's going on in my head is not always clear..."

"... but what's happening in your heart is." She stopped in the frame, waiting for the rest. "If the fate of a fictitious character puts you in such a state, I can hardly imagine how my ordeal could have got you feel !" I paused, clearing my throat. "If it happens again, don't hesitate to come see me, okay ?" She smiled at me, gently nodded and returned to the ground floor.

"Good !" then launched Plagg. "I'm going back for reserves." And before I had time to tell him there was some in the mini-fridge, he was already out.

 

Returning to my school work, I realize, after this short summary of the story that made me Emilie, this research and my various courses suddenly seem to be a real pleasure.

**=^/-\^=**

"Do you intend to tell him ?" Plagg asked me, perching on my shoulder.

Knowing that he was going to stand on his roost, I headed for a drawer of the wardrobe where I pulled out a cushion-pillow the same style of Adrien's ladybug, but mine being a black cat. I then squatted in my bed, burying my face in the soft faux fur of the stuffed animal. It took me a while to answer his question, but he knew that I intended to answer him sooner or later. The kwami and I got along pretty well on some points. He didn't hesitate to tell me about his past, and me about my knowledge about Adrien and the Miraculous. "Tell him what ?" I finally asked him. "That the fanfiction that I read was about him and Ladybug and that he was the guy who was tortured ?! Are you sick !?" I cringed, trying to hold back my tears.

_It was just a story !_

**_It was just a STORY !_ **

I tightened my grip on the stuffed cat, but a little purr in my ear slightly relaxed my grip. "He's downstairs and he's fine, I recall you." I gently nodded. "I'm sure if anything else happens to him, you'll do anything to help him. Since I've known him, you've done more for him than I've seen his father do..."

I giggled against the cat cushion. "You say that, but you would do anything to help him if something happened to him. You gave me your powers so I could save him, after all !"

"And if I had to do it again, I wouldn't hesitate."

"He's your _partner_ after all !"

"And he's your son..."

Yes, Adrien is now my son... It may be fictitious for some, but he's very real for me... This fic has completely made me lose my mind...

 

All of a sudden, I don't know when will be the next time I dare to read fanfictions again...

**óÔÔò**


	6. Silent scream

**(:|:)**

Since our team was getting too big for simple patrols, we decided by mutual agreement, to separate into two teams: Carapace, RenaRouge and QueenBee would patrol one night on two, and Chat Noir, FuryFlame and me the rest of the time, bringing everyone together on the seventh evening to make a weekly report. Emilie, who became the only known Miraculous in Quebec, decided to spend some time with us to train and learn to master her powers. So she was on our team so that I could repair the damage she could inadvertently inflict through my _Cure_ , but also because Chat was the only one who could understand her.

Since HawkMoth had been arrested, life in Paris had become much quieter, but the danger was still present: loss of control of a vehicle, thieves, drunken fights, and so on. We were there to lend a hand to the authorities without carrying out arrests.

However, in the course of one night, an incident happened so quickly that we hardly had time to catch our breath.

As we roamed the rooftops, Chat suddenly stopped, frantically sniffing the air, his ears swiveling from side to side to spot a sound we couldn't hear... Well, that _I_ didn't hear. Although not hearing as fine as that of Chat Noir, FuryFlame also seemed to perceive a sound that seemed to worry her. Apparently agreeing on the source of the noise, both took the same direction, knowing that I would follow them without question.

They finally stopped in front of a restaurant, closed at this late hour. "I'm calling first aid..." Chat was telling as I arrived, but he had barely had time to grab his staff to use the phone function he stopped in his gesture, suddenly alert. Yet, looking quickly, I saw nothing suspicious except for the smell of rotten eggs and the person who passed by the restaurant lighting a cigarette... All of a sudden, the pieces of the puzzle have moved, but too slowly so that I can act accordingly.

A gas leak.

In a snap of one's fingers, Chat Noir disappeared in a green flash and FuryFlame made her giant boomerang appear to launch alongside the pedestrian, unaware of the danger. At the same time, Chat Noir reappeared next to the pedestrian, standing behind the boomerang and grabbing the smoker to protect him with his body. A fraction of a second later, the restaurant exploded in a terrible blast, enveloping Chat Noir and his protégé from hellish flames.

Flame then jumped from the roof where we still were to rush into the center of the restaurant through an opening in the roof. Removing her scarf from over her mouth, I saw her absorb the flames as if her mouth had become a black hole absorbing the surrounding light. In the meantime, I finally came down from the roof to join my partners. Chat Noir was straightening up, releasing the man, telling him with a smile that it would be safer for him to go to the hospital to make sure everything was fine, but apart from a serious shock and a lot of soot, the man seemed intact. A moment later, the fire was out. Calm finally returned, I heard a 'beep' coming from FuryFlame's Miraculous, who slowly replaced her scarf on her nose and visibly resumed her breath. She had just used her power and would soon de-transform.

Nonchalantly, Chat began to shake the soot that covered his suit, then seized the boomerang planted firmly in the ground to give it to his mother who finally came out of the building, allowing me to repair it with my _Miraculous Ladybug_. "We had a blast !" he exclaimed to the dragon with a smirk.

To my surprise, however, I saw her punch him in the stomach, cutting Chat Noir's breath and bending him in half. _But what takes her ?!_ He himself was particularly surprised by this attitude and simply stared at her, his mouth dropped, his cat's ears falling to the side of his head. She started to sign, too quickly for me to understand, but her stance, her breadth and the roughness of her movements were different from what I had always seen, and at the pitiful look that was slowly showing up in Chat Noir's face, I quickly realized that it was not good. He slowly straightened up, his hand still on his stomach, and looked away, but FuryFlame grabbed his chin quickly to force him to keep looking at her still moving hands. She finally concluded by slapping him behind the head and turned away to disappear on the rooftops.

I finally came towards him, looking at him anxiously. "What happened ?"

"I just got yelled at..." he replied in a small voice, staring shockingly at the roof through which his mother had just disappeared.  _Yelled ?!_ But everything had happened so silently that it was hard to believe. "I understand that, for you, it sounds weird, but for me, it's as if she had smashed my eardrums. The only time I saw her in such anger was when Father tried to kill her at the Manor. She never raised her voice on me, even less yelled at me... It's... weird..."

I gently rubbed his arm to calm him down. "She yelled at you about what, I didn't understand..."

He rubbed his stomach, looking away to the ground. "Because instead of staying in the flames with this man, I could have just ran away with the _Supurr Speed_ and we wouldn't have our whiskers burned. That I have... a family that I have to take care of now, and that I must stop rushing out for danger..." He had a small smile. "To try to take care of myself before taking care of others for a change... Not to think only of me, but... to be more careful..."

I nodded, understanding a little better Emilie's feelings about the situation. He had already told me about this conversation they had when he was nearly kidnapped and Emilie had had a bullet wound in the back - or was it the hip ? In short, she had reproached him for always putting his life in danger for the benefit of others. However, he had to become more careful to be able to go home for his son... and for me. I looked at what was left of the restaurant behind us, then the man who was still waiting sideways, wondering what to do. "I'm going to take care of him. You go look for FuryFlame. I think there are things that have not been said yet." Chat turned to me, somewhat incredulous, then slowly nodded and rushed to the roof where Flame had fled. I sighed as I started my _Cure_. I thought I understood why Flame had been so furious with Chat's actions, but it was not up to me to let him know.

The explosion attracted attention, and the _Cure_ having treated the victim, I still remained with the latter to wait for the ambulance. If _Miraculous Ladybug_  healed the body, the mind could remain damaged.

**=^..^=**

I took a moment to find her. She was back to her civil appearance, curled up between two statues on the Arche de Triomphe. Longg had lazily settled on her head, recharging his batteries with a hot pepper, then made me a simple gesture of the paw when he saw me. I slowly approached, but suddenly stopped when I heard her sobbing. "Mom ?" I called her softly, but I still saw her jump. "You uh... you left too fast so I could talk to you... I... I should have been more careful, I..."

I didn't have time to finish my sentence. She got up quickly to run into my arms. "I'm sorry... So sorry..." She was crying, talking between her teeth to hold back her emotions.

I responded to her embrace. "Why are you apologizing ? It was me who acted like a moron... There were so many other options to save this man, and I chose to serve him as a human shield. You had every reason in the world to be mad at me !"

She tightened her hug and gently shook her head. "I wasn't mad at you, I was _scared_ for you and my nerves dropped..." She took a good breath before moving slightly away, looking at me this time in the eyes. "I didn't want to yell at you, I'm sorry..."

I smiled softly and shook my head. "It's all right, I think I needed to have my fleas shook a bit..." She giggled. I once again tighten our embrace. "I have to remember that I have a family now, and there are people who love me waiting for me at home..."

She slapped me behind the head and stepped back to look me in the eye again. "What am I supposed to be ?!" I watched her, somewhat confused. I didn't understand how I had offended her. "Adrien, there was ALWAYS someone waiting for you, whether it was Nathalie who was taking care of you when your father wasn't, whether it was your gorilla doing his job not just because he was paid for it, whether it was your father who, in spite of his plan, was incapable of hating you, without speaking about Chloe, Nino, Alya or Marinette... and us ! There's ALWAYS had someone to worry about you, at different levels, no doubt... and it's NOW you're aware of it ?!" I was shocked, lowering my eyes. She gently cupped my face in her hands, forcing me to look at her again. I didn't dare anymore. "You'll ask Marinette how many times, before you know who was behind the mask, she returned from a mission angry because you had put your life in danger for her... I'm sure the answer will surprise you..." I slowly nodded, too shocked to answer. She gently pressed her lips to my forehead. "We're kidding with that because you're a cat, but you don't have nine lives... You only have one and you almost lost it in the fire..."

"Your boomerang has protected me..."

"Wrong fire..."

_..................._   
_Oh................._   
_THAT fire................_

I suddenly understood everything. What shocked her was not necessarily the fact that I risked my life in the explosion, but it was first the fact that she had relived the stress of the apartment block fire. "Oh Mom... I..." She stuck her index finger in my stomach, where she'd hit me a little earlier, and although the suit eased the pain, her punch had also was done with a magic suit, and just getting a finger in my belly hurt enough to bend me in two. "Yes, I know that you're worried about my well-being," I answered between teeth, shortness of breath. "You told me so earlier..."

She put my hands on my shoulders, straightening me up slightly. "Did I hit that hard ?" She seemed really surprised.

"Let's say with the same force that if neither of us had his suit..." I straightened up completely, trying to catch my breath.

She watched me quietly resume my mind, fists on the hips. "Do you promise me that you will pay attention to your life, for a change ?" _For a change ?_ Ah yes,... this _other_ conversation.

"Only if you promise me that you'll also pay attention to yours..."

She then suddenly stuck my head in an arm wrench. "You speak French, English, Chinese, QSL, you finish your studies in Physics... I know that you can use your head !" She then released me to put both hands in my hair and ruffle them more vigorously than ever. "Prove it by stopping putting yourself in danger !" She finally let go of me, allowing me to put my hair back as best as I could while we laughed like two kids. "Longg ?" I heard her call. "Operational again?" The little red kwami vigorously nodded and looked at me mischievously. _What are they up to ?_ "Transform me." Then, once in suit, she gave me the same mischievous look. " _I still owe you a kick in the ass..._ "

_Oh oh..._

I laughed. " _Butt_   _furr_ st, you'll have to  _cat_ ch me !"

Then I left in a flash, just fast enough to get away from her in a reasonable speed, allowing me to hear her roar a "Wimp !" behind me.

**óÔÔò**


	7. Fanboy Freak-Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I humbly dedicate this drabble to [Uptown Cosplay](http://uptowncosplay.tumblr.com/).
> 
> I always loved cosplays, but since I've discovered you, I just fell in love with cosplaying again and can't thank you enough for what you bring to people, in as out of character - Jenna
> 
> Thanks to you, to your YouTube videos, to watch you having so much fun, it gave me the heart to cosplay again and it reminded me the pleasure I had to do with sewing, to live my passion - Melyxan
> 
> I'm not pretending anything regarding Uptown nor Eika. This drabble is only for fun, first and foremost.

**=^..^=**

Marinette still wasn't awake after the alarm rang twice. I glanced at Tikki, who just shrugged, watching Plagg still sleeping, curled on Marinette's face. As strange as it may sound, Tikki and I were the early birds, and Marinette and Plagg were the night owls. We had to get ready for the second day of the convention, and we still had nothing planned as a costume. Digging in the shop, Tikki floating beside me, the kwami and I finally exchanged a look, then burst out laughing. And if we...

I put my ring on the bedside table and removed my piercings. I then gently removed her earrings, Marinette's Miraculous, and placed them on the same ear, Tikki telling me that the thing would work anyway and, from my point of view, it would seem a little less feminine. I finally got out of the room and, holding back a laugh, asked Tikki to transform me. She herself was laughing as I launched the transformation.

Finding myself in the red suit with black dots was a dream come true. Why didn't we do that before ?! I observed my new outfit from all angles, realizing that despite everything, the design looked like what I had with my Chat Noir costume. The famous yo-yo was around my waist, and padding covered my shoulders and arms. As I ran my hand through my hair, I was surprised to see that my ears were no longer there, which was normal, though.

"Looks nice on you," exclaimed Marinette's sleepy voice. I smiled at her shyly, apologizing for taking her Miraculous during her sleep. "If Tikki let you do that, she agreed to it, so I have nothing to say against it." Seeing my relief, she turned to Plagg who was floating with his eyes closed beside her, then turned to me again. "Do you want to go to the convention like that ?"

I shrugged. "If you want... and if Plagg wants, of course..." The two sleepers exchanged a look, then Plagg just shrugged and Marinette went back to the room to come back with my Miraculous at her finger.

"Plaaaaaaaaaaagg" she started yawning "transform me". In a moment, she was dressed in black, her hair lying in a long braid acting as a tail for lack of the long belt as I had. Her eyes were completely green, the same green being in some places on her new suit. The transformation giving her a boost of energy, she observed herself, analyzing her new appearance, while I was doing everything to find my jaw on the floor. If she was beautiful as Ladybug, I couldn't find the words to describe her as...

"How do you plan to call yourself ?" I asked her in a breath.

She came out of her contemplation with a start, then began to think. "Do you remember 'LadyNoir'?" I nodded. I admit that since she was Ladybug as Chat Noir, Lady Noir was appropriate. "And you ?"

I shrugged. I didn't really think about it. We suddenly heard banging on the ceiling. Marinette at first jumped, but I barely raised an eyebrow. I had become so accustomed to this signal that it had become commonplace. With a gesture, I invited Mari~ Lady Noir to follow me to the ground floor. When we arrived, we found a Ladybug and a Chat Noir, but the costumes were very different from what we had worn. When we saw each other, we all looked at each other, then Chat Noir face-palmed. "Oh Lord... you decided to do a kwami swap for today ?"

I burst out laughing at my mother's reaction, then I got an illumination and exclaimed "LordBug, it will be LordBug for me !" Emi raised an eyebrow. "I'll be LordBug, and Mari will be Lady Noir," I explained. She shrugged, then turned to the Ladybug who was making snacks for the day. "Mom ? What are your costumes ? I saw a few at the convention, but I didn't quite understand what they were and why their style was always the same..."

Emi and Mel exchanged a look, then Emi turned to us. "We are the _first versions_..." The _what_ ?! She took a long time to gather her ideas, trying to find out how she would explain. "When you write a story, sometimes you change your mind in the middle of the road, or you realize that an idea isn't working for a variety of reasons." I nodded, knowing what Emi wanted to talk about. Sometimes, to pass the time, she wrote stories that she enjoyed publishing on the Internet, often fan-fiction inspired by an anime or a movie. She did it for pleasure, but often made me read it to know my opinion or to have someone who could correct it before publishing. She had talent, but was never convinced of her abilities. "Mel is Bridgette, Ladybug before Marinette, and I'm Félix before he became... you..." _Another story of a parallel universe, I guess._ "To put it simply, you could say that Bridgette and Félix are your direct predecessors, in the sense that Bri could have been Marinette's mentor, and Fé could have been yours if they came from the same universe as you." _That's what I thought..._

The front door was finally heard, Eve appearing with a Chat Noir style sweater, black with big stylized letters writing _Mew Gouda Brie Kitten !_ in neon green. No doubt a tribute to Plagg seeing the cat _and_ cheese puns. Definitely, there would always be a place for puns in my Quebec family, and it was something that I missed horribly. She came to join us, gauging all of our costumes. "Cool ! Have you decided on a kwami swap for today ?" she said, watching Lady Noir and me from head to toe. She then pouted. "Are they real costumes, this time, or is it still Tikki and Plagg ?" I just massaged my neck. "Of course..." she sighed. "At least you look sharp ! It's quite surprising how your costumes are different !" She then turned to... _pff !_... _Mélabug_. "Did you need me for today ?"

 _Mélabug_ nodded and led her to the basement. It had been agreed that she would babysit for today.

.oOoOo.

 _Mélabug_ and... _EmiNoir ? Chatmilie ?_   _Whatever_... were finally installed at their kiosk, letting us wander through the Palais des Congrès. We managed to find the group we had met the day before, surprising them with our 'costumes'.

Later, however, during our exploration, Lady Noir and I were looking for what we were going to visit next when someone behind me suddenly and gently grabbed my hand. As I turned to understand what was happening, [I found myself in front of a _Chat Noir_ , one knee on the ground](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17102048/chapters/43732739). The situation was more than odd, especially because this _Chat_ thought to compliment his Lady on her new costume. Yet a _Ladybug_ was right by his side, looking at the situation with as much surprise as Lady Noir and I. The _Chat Noir_ then stood up, nervously rubbing his neck, confused in apologies, but while I assured him that everything was fine, Lady Noir then got caught up in the game, flirting in turn with the _Chat Noir_ who by dint of hearing him speak, actually turned out to be a young woman. The two _Chats Noirs_ then embarked on a competition of flirting and sweet words. The _Ladybug_ and I, left on a side, could only observe the scene with a certain degree of discomfort. However, to see how the two _Chats_ didn't let go, I couldn't help but turn to _Ladybug_. "Am I always like this ?!"

 _Ladybug_ gave me an incredulous look. "Wait... Are you freaking serious ?!" She had no idea of the situation in which I was. After all, I had the attitude I had when I was younger thrown in my face and seeing it before my eyes made me almost uncomfortable. Of course, neither she nor _Chat Noir_ could guess that the latter and Lady Noir played _my_ role in their masquerade. I just shrugged, not really being able to give her an answer, and grinned. I then drew my Lady's attention, discreetly asking her to continue our exploration. The two _Chats_ mutually hand-kissed each other - _damn it !_ \- and we parted, Lady Noir unable to control her giggles, constantly throwing me a furtive look.

Among the thematic meetings of the convention, commonly called panels, we discovered to our great surprise that one of them was related to our _universe_. What we didn't know, however, was that this panel was run by the _Chat Noir_ and _Ladybug_ that we had met earlier. Intrigued by what was going to happen, we settled, relatively to the back, and decided to play the game. What would have been the reactions of the audience if it came to discover that we were the real ones ? At the same time, I was curious to see how the two young women, appearing out of character as _Uptown Otaku_ \- the _Chat Noir_ \- and _Eika Tsukiyomi_ \- the _Ladybug_ \- were going to play our roles.

Their way of doing things was quite simple: people could ask them questions out and in character, and could pretend that everyone knew who was under the mask, or not, depending on the questions, that their memory magically erased between every question. Lady Noir and I bit our lips so as not to burst out laughing at some of their shenanigans. Eika reminded me a lot of Marinette in the early days when I knew her, rather embarrassed and reserved, while Uptown seemed almost too comfortable in my role. Of course, sometimes they were asked questions that they couldn't answer correctly, but to see the ease with which they responded made us die of laughter.

Then came a period of Truth or Dare. Reasonably, the audience could ask them more sensitive questions or challenge them. Sometimes it was a dance competition between the two speakers, or that _Ladybug_ tells _Chat Noir_ what happened when they -  _we_ \- had faced Dark Cupid. Of course, it was something that Marinette and I had talked about a long time ago, but for the sake of the cause, it was amusing to see  _Chat Noir_ 's reaction. All of a sudden, I saw a machiavellian smile on Lady Noir's face. _What is she preparing ?!_ I saw her raise her hand. I nervously nudged her in the ribs. _I thought we had agreed to stay discreet ?!_ Uptown then signaled to her that it was her turn to express herself, recognizing with a huge smile the costume of my partner. Lady Noir smiled only widened. "Chat Noir ! Both of us saw earlier that we could flirt easily with each other." The room laughed, Uptown nodding vigorously. "Now, I challenge you in a puns fight! We'll see who the Pun Master is !"

Under the encouragement of the crowd, Uptown accepted the challenge, Eika giving them a situation to start with. Sending jokes and comments in turn, came a time when _Chat Noir_ didn't know what to say or do, so even when _Ladybug_ came to help her _Chat Noir_ , my Lady still managed to lead the dance. I had also risen to try to help Lady Noir, but she was so successful that I simply played with my yoyo, having no need to intervene.

Lady Noir was quickly declared winner, bowing theatrically in front of the audience.

I think I rubbed on her too much...

At the end of the panel, Uptown and Eika came to see us, out of character, for a group hug and a selfie, having too much fun with us. Before leaving, I kindly put an arm around Uptown's shoulders, approaching to speak to her discreetly. "By the way, it's _passion fruit_ my favorite flavor !" Without adding anything, as if nothing had happened, Lady Noir and I left the room, greeting them happily, leaving a delighted _Ladybug_ and a more than stunned _Chat Noir._

**óÔÔò**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed !!


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